All you already khow every time I visit the San Francisco, my husband and I always book in Potrero Hill. The neighborhood feels alive during the day despite being mostly residential, which is WHY WE LOVE IT! There is a steady sidewalk culture of people coming and going. Mama’s pushing strollers, people walking to work down to the Design District (that’s where my husband works!), and other constant foot traffic of people going the the Mission District, DogPatch or Soma. It’s also in between to two hospitals (Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay.)

There are just enough amenities that you can walk to right out our door to buy wine, take the kids to a park, or sit at a sidewalk table for lunch. SF locals who have lived in the Castro, Cole Valley, Mission, South of Market, Hayes Valley, and even the Richmond District — all bustling and vibrant parts of town —but none of them feel as homey as Potrero Hill.

During our weeks stay, the husband went to work, and the kids and I explored the neighborhood. Obviously, this wasn’t our first time here, but the location of the Airbnb was new. A new street, we haven’t been on, and a few other street views we haven’t seen just yet.

One afternoon the boys and I were walking up to an open space to get a better view of the city, and we stumbled upon the ‘Little Free Library,’ bookhouse along the way. This house was so adorable, we actually have one in our neighborhood in Sacramento, its definietly a cool program, especially during the summer. The little library was like a large bird house with a glass door. Just a few selected books are placed in there catering those who enjoy love novels, travel, cook books, business, and also kids books for toddlers, and elementary school aged.

The Aibnb I stayed at, had an amazing selection of San Francisco books as well! One of my favorites was Victoria Smith’s (sfgirlbybay) book! I’ve been following Victoria for years!! I still remember the day’s of reading her blog, getting so inspired to just snap a few shots in San Francisco, and just uploading them to my own desktop as wallpaper!! YES! BEFORE INSTAGRAM!!!

Internationally popular design blogger SF Girl By Bay comes the ultimate love letter to San Francisco. This gorgeously photographed lifestyle guide gives the reader an insider’s tour of the City by the Bay through Victoria Smith’s unique lens. Organized by neighborhood (like Potrero Hill), each chapter features enchanting photos of hidden corners, local color, landmarks, and hot spots!!!

You can get your copy of ‘See San Francisco..’ on Amazon Prime | HERE |

As my boys and I continued our walk around Potrero Hill we walked toward the Starr King Open Space, along 23rd, and up the hill towards Carolina. Star King Open Space, a lesser known “park,” with a great view! While not technically a park, the area is protected from development and meant to be enjoyed by the entire community, including the wild animals.

Where it’s located: Near 23rd and Carolina streets in Potrero Hill.

While everyone loves Golden Gate Park and Dolores Park, San Francisco also has over 220 parks and open spaces! If I wasn’t staying in Potrero Hill, I would’ve never found this hidden gem! Thanks to my Airbnb host who provided the cutest tiniest book about Potrero Hill, and all it’s cool happenings!

What do you like doing during the summer that costs you nothing and doesn’t have you driving anywhere?! Those kind’ve simple pleasures are the best in life wouldn’t you agree? Comment below and share your summer free experiences!!

The family and I are back from another awesome San Francisco trip. We were welcomed back to Sacramento earlier this week, with a warm and toasty 100 degree hug!! Yuck! I know! Completely different from the Bay Area breeze! Our San Francisco weeks trip was filled with art, culture, food, city scapes, neighborhood exploring and well, the bay breeze!! We were so excited to have our annual San Francisco Summer trip, because we got to escape the nasty heat in the 916!! After moving to Sacramento from the Bay Area, one thing is certain, the San Francisco Bay Area has t h e BEST weather!!!!! The Bay breeze blows throughout the entire Bay Area from Oakland, Walnut Creek, to the Tri-City East Bay.

Visiting the Bay Area is always special to me. Not only am I near my friends and family, but also my birth place. Living in the Bay for 30 years, I’ve been surrounded by multicultural cities, the melting pot of west coast in food, and also you’re just a few hours either direction to the wine country, Tahoe, and Yosemite!

If you’re new to blog, welcome!!! I’m happy you’ve found me!! Just to give my new readers some content, I’m Tiffany, and my family and I constantly visit San Francisco. We’re a family originally from the Bay Area (Born & raised), and now settled in Sacramento! My husband works romotely from home in Sac, but makes this monthly visits back to San Francisco. Soo…..Since, it’s summer, or when schedules work out for the kids and myself, we’ll join along with my husband to SF, and stay in an Airbnb!

Our Airbnb was set comfortably in the middle of Potrero Hill, which is our favorite neighborhood in the entire city to stay at. Walking distance to coffee shops, playgrounds, and many different restaurants. The quite neighborhood also has amazing views of the city from every street! (Some, not even tourists know of!!!!)

Potrero Hill feels like keeping a secret. There are no undiscovered neighborhoods in San Francisco, but residents of the Hill have something special, which is why the family and I consistently keep returning. Perched on the southeast side of the city, it’s on the way to nowhere. It feels isolated from the rest of town, but walking distance west to The Mission, or going the DogPatch on 3rd. Taking walks anywhere perfectly frames the downtown skyline, even the Bay Bridge, and the ships on the bay and the blinking lights of Oakland toward the East.

Beverly Hills is a city in California’s Los Angeles County. Home to many Hollywood stars, it features the upscale shopping street of Rodeo Drive. The expansive Beverly Gardens Park has fountains and rose gardens, plus an illuminated Beverly Hills sign. Beverly Hills is the place in LA where celebrities and the fabulous local residents come to do their normal every day-to-day errands, what better way to celebrate my 31st birthday and “celebrity watch,” in their neck of the woods!!

Two weeks ago, the family and I took a trip to Los Angeles. Being a California native, born and raised in the Bay Area, SoCal has always been one of those locations you always want to visit once a year. Los Angeles has so many cities just within in 502 square miles alone! That’s a perimeter of the city of 342 miles!!!

Having done many trips within mine and my husbands lifetime, this would be the first for our children to remember the city of entertainment and cinema. Before this trip was made, I remembered my older son saying “I want to go to Hollywood mommy.” He said that for about a week straight. It was probably a commercial of Universal Studios Hollywood that got his attention. So, when it came to deciding where our summer road trip would be, it was no surprise that LA wasn’t a bad idea.

As always Airbnb is our go to for our travel accommodations. The online marketplace and hospitality service, enables travelers to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, or homestays. As mentioned before, the husband and I live through Airbnb on a monthly basis for business and for holiday.

Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of leading light film stars and vendors selling maps to stars’ homes.

We stayed in Beverly Hills, as it was centrally located within the heart of LA. West Hollywood wasn’t to far, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach, to name a few. Just like any major large city, our stay was a cute apartment walking distance to Rodeo Drive, and easy access to Wilshire Blvd & Beverly Drive, which include many boutique shops and eateries.

During our stays in different cities, the family and I love to stick with every day happenings, vs. the major touristy spots. BUT, with the exception of first timers for our children, (and since we were so close to many of these Hollywood things,) we did manage to take them to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood sign, and of course a family day trip to Universal Studios Hollywood, which was covered by CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE , giving us Elite travel benefits! Thanks CHASE!

Love to travel and dine? Check out Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card. This was our second trip using our points that covered a great amount of vacation! From Universal Studios, to our car rental! All FREE!!

After the checking out the happenings all throughout Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Universal City, the family decided to drive out towards Pasadena. Northeast of downtown Los Angeles, in the center, Old Pasadena is a shopping and dining district known for its Victorian and art deco buildings. The Rose Bowl is a sports stadium known for hosting the Rose Bowl Game, an annual college football clash, but besides the football, they also host the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market!!! To any flea market goer in California, or anywhere else, this is one flea market to check out in your lifetime. Unfortunately, we were a week to early.

But no worries! I was recommended to the Pasadena City College Flea | PCC Flea Market, which is open every Sunday! So, we packed our cooler, with fruit, water bottles, and sandwiches and called it a flea market/Pasadena day! Oh, the PCC Flea was filled with an eclectic array of crafts, apparel, antiques & other goodies! My husband even managed to fine tons of vinyl records, and my boys found some awesome HotWheels, gem stones, and Pokemon cards!!

When visiting Los Angeles, you have to check out the beaches. Of course, Southern California is known for their amazing beaches, so why not check one out. We brought the boys to Santa Monica beach. Leaving nothing but footprints, and time to kill, the family and I relaxed in the sand. Admiring the beach waves, listening to the laughter and screams coming from the roller-coasters off the pier. Summer was happening, and it was also my birthday. 6 days spent in Los Angeles. Hollywood, food, celebrities watching, people watching, coffee shops, boutiques and burgers, and playing frisbee under the Hollywood sign.

It was a perfect visit to LA. And I’d always come back for more. Thanks LA, good times.

I’ve been itching for an Airbnb trip for about 2 months now. My last visit to San Francisco was in January. So visiting San Francisco last weekend for a little rest & recreation with my husband is definietly needed. It was also my husband’s 31st birthday, so having a nice getaway together was absolutely well deserved.

For new readers to my blog, welcome! Once a month for business my husband stays in SF for a couple days at an Airbnb. Working remotely from Sacramento, he gets the chance to meet with his team, and be in the office. If schedule’s work out between him, the kids, and myself, we can usually squeeze in some mommy daddy time during his visit. This past weekend….We made it work. I’ve made the executive decision to skip out on one of my sons basketball games, including missing out on pictures!! (Yes! I know, bad mom!) BUT, am I really a bad mom?! A little weekend –parents only– getaway never really hurt anyone. Plus, I keep devote all my time to children here in Sacramento. So….Missing his game, and pictures. Not a huge biggie to me.

Every time my husband stays in San Francisco, he always at an Airbnb in one of our favorite “dream neighborhoods,”Potrero Hill. Potrero Hill is a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It’s actually our dream neighborhoods if ever we return back to the Bay Area. It is known for its views of the San Francisco Bay and city skyline (right along 18th-20th St. CHECK it out!!!), and its very close proximity to many destination spots, and its sunny skies.

We’ve been using Airbnb for about 4 years now, and haven’t really turned back to hotels during vacations/mini-getaways.

UNLESS we get to stay for FREE using our Points we receive from our Chase Sapphire card. ;P

We do occasionally stay at a boutique hotel, which we did last February for our 16year anniversary – which we spent in Santa Cruz.

Our visits to San Francisco have been way more frequent than ever! Even while we were living in the Tri-city, we rarely came into San Francisco. So it’s just funny how life works in mysterious ways as we’ve moved to Sacramento, and now visit every month or so, and stay at a fabulous Airbnb for a few days to live like locals.

You can check out a video of one of our last visits with the kids in San Francisco. I made a separate YouTube Channel away from my TiffanysTidings channel to hopefully share more traveling adventures!

Click the icon below to watch!

The pictures shown within the post were taken at my last visit (in January) prior to this past weekends.

I’ll post more of my most recent visit next, so keep a look out for that, but please enjoy the pictures of this lovely Airbnb!!

It’s a Classic Victorian apartment in sunny Potrero Hill! As I mentioned earlier, Potrero Hill is my husband’s and mine’s FAVORITE neighborhood. The host Bethany, is originally from Seattle, and love’s the outdoors, traveling, reading, eating, meeting new people, and playing games, especially Settlers of Catan (Who doesn’t love Settler’s of Catan?!?!?! Junior version is also dope as well!!!)

Bethany’s Airbnb is again, in the sunny and quiet Potrero Hill, 1 bedroom/1 bathroom lower unit in a 1900s Victorian house. Great central Potrero Hill location, close to The Mission, Dogpatch, SOMA and walking distance to many tech companies (close to my husbands work, which is why he booked it!) Shuttle stops and Caltrain are near, plus, easy access to 280 and 101 freeways for those commuting down the Peninsula. Whole Foods is around the corner along with many great neighborhood restaurant options and local businesses so a car is not necessary when we stayed.

The place was so perfect for us! It’s a beautiful house in a great location. It’s so lovely, comfortable, and a well-appointed space. Bethany replied instantly to every communication and was very responsive to any request or question – KUDOS to being such a great Airbnb host. Loved how private and light-filled the apt was.

I love gathering home decor inspiration from all the Airbnb’s I stay at!! Can’t wait to host!!!!!

A few days ago, I had went to the grand opening of the newest Goodwill here in Sacramento. With my mental list of thrift store needs, I walked in ready and excited to find what new goodies I can get my hands on. I stumbled upon lots of glassware, and this fabulous liquor decanter for $4, with the topper!! I snagged it, along with other home accessories and went on my way. Now, I’m no huge drinker, I’d love to thrift me a bar cart – but not to display alcoholic beverages, mainly for desserts and sweets when entertaining. I don’t even use my china cabinet properly for fancy dishes. I had plans to use my newly thrifted liquor decanter for my husbands Listerine.

I got the idea of using a liquor decanter from an Airbnb spot we stayed last summer in San Francisco. It was a cool loft located in Dogpatch. If you’re new to my blog, I go to San Francisco every month, checking in at cool Airbnb spots throughout Potrero Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods. My monthly visits are piggy-backing visits as my husband goes there for business. We always make a thing out of it, as he combines his business trip, extended to a weekend getaway for mommy daddy.

Using a liquor decanter for Listerine, is one of the most clever things I’ve ever seen. Little details such as using an ornate piece of a bar accessory for simple daily tasks makes the task of mouth washing more pleasurable.

After placing the thrifted liquor decanter and top in the dishwasher, I couldn’t wait to ti take it upstairs to our master bathroom. The clean crystal clear glass looked even more amazing then when I purchased it off the shelf at Goodwill. I took my husbands (Costco size) Listerine and poured it in the decanter. Seeing the beautiful aqua blue – ultraclean mouth wash looked so good in the decanter!

Do you know that feeeling when you see something at Z Gallerie or West Elm, and you completely achieved a look such as theirs on your own, and under budget…

This was that. And that feeling rocks!!

Stay tuned for more of my Winter Break Thrift store finds!!! I gathered so many goodies this week, I can’t possibly write a post of them all!

Since the move to Sacramento, the family and I have made a few visits back to the Bay Area. It’s nice to sleep at the parent’s house, and go back to what was once your normal routine. To take familiar roads/streets routes to your favorite coffee and ice cream shop. It’s always special and nostalgic to go back home. But there are parts of me not missing it. The Bay definitely is more crowded then Sacramento, and that’s what reminds me why we moved. But what about other cities in the Bay Area where I never lived? How about living there temporarily?

This upcoming month has quite a bit of traveling. The hubby, has a San Francisco business trip every month. During his stay, the company covers his expenses using Airbnb & Uber. So what better way for the kids and I to hop on that opportunity and change up the pace of living here in Sac, while we’re still on summer vacation? Airbnb has been our go-to hospitality route.

Airbnb San Francisco AGENDA

Today, the kids and I will traveling to meet daddy in San Francisco. Our current plans are to stay a night together, have fun the Mission, sleep, and enjoy brunch. The kids and I will continue to explore once daddy heads back to work. Since we are somewhat natives to the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ll be dropping the boys off to their grandparents house back in the East Bay (approx. 45 minutes away from SF w/o traffic)

Coming back to the Bay Area, is really refreshing for me. I have the help of my parents to watch the kids, as my hubby and I can focus on us as a couple. I’ll be taking BART (Bay Area Rapid Transportation), back into San Francisco, as my hubby has his car nestled at the Airbnb spot. All moving parts, are all carefully planned out, and set into place. A lot of coordination. but really simple.

After moving to Sacramento, our visits back to the Bay Area, are a lot more high quality. As we use Airbnb, Uber, and other parts of local transportation, there is more of a appreciation to this place, that I wasn’t able to enjoy while living here. Not many peers understand, why we left the Bay Area. But at this point, there is no need to explain, for them to understand. We visit consistently, and explore places than we ever could.

Out decision to relocate to another city, was mature, well thought out, and the best for our family. With this move, and new lifestyle of Airbnb’ing back to San Francisco, we’ve gained a lot more than actually living and paying to live in San Francisco.

FUN FACT: We’ve met more people within the past 4 months of living in Sacramento and heading back to San Francisco, then we ever did living in the Bay Area, and being stagnant. Social circles were at a dead stop. Growth within our peers were moving at different paces, and we were unable to relate. Why live like that?

Airbnb is a place to explore places you would have never visited, and experience them in a way as if you actually lived there. Many Airbnb spots we’ve stayed in including, Portand, OR, Seattle, WA, Sonoma, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, all have been very accommodating to us. The hosts, tend to host families. Living there, is all what they are about.

The best part of Airbnb is choosing the right place for you! The hubby and I Chromecast our laptops to the main TV in our home and share our browsers. We poor a glass of wine/ lately, beer…Crafts beers for him and enjoy looking through different places for our next trip. We join and settle on a collaboration of our interior likes and styles. He like, modern industrial, I like that with a touch of boho chic. We’re definitely an eclectic couple! Overall, we always find the right place for us. Sometimes, we’re not able to find the Airbnb spot we like, due to availability. so we always settle for safe, clean, and location. It always works out in the end.

So theres my upcoming summer plans. Aibnb to San Francisco every month!!! Stay tuned for something special, as I’m adding more videos to the blog. Something separate from tiffanystidings video, but more personal travels. Subscribe to the channel below and stay tuned for future content! I’ll be sharing our travels, discoveries in Sacramento, San Francisco, and maybe just maybe San Diego, if we can squeeze that in to our busy summer……….

Over the weekend, Derrick and I celebrated our 14 year anniversary in the Springs neighborhood of Sonoma. We rented out an absolutely stunning Sonoma wine county estate so close to the square. Lately, I’ve been obsessing about getting new furniture for our home from places like Z Gallerie and Restoration Hardware, because of all the shows I’ve been watching on HGTV like Fixer Upper. But Derrick always brings be back to earth after saying what’s wrong with my current system of Craigslisting items or searching for fine unique pieces from Antique faires and flea markets at bargain prices. (He has a point.) But, he does understand why I obsess over fine chic stylish home decor. So, what better way than living in a home already completely furnished for a weekend!

Our anniversary date is the day after Valentine’s so typically, we always combine the two and make a nice romanic weekend out of it. We’ve always have done weekend getaways to fine/artistic and stylish places, such as an art gallery boutique hotel in the French District of San Francisco. Located in the French Quarter and crossroads of Union Square, the Financial District, and right at the Chinatown Gate – Hotel De Arts in San Francisco, has an amazing selection of rooms, with simple, modern clean hotel furnishings. (We stayed in the Sam Flores room, in 2009)

Another year, we stayed at the Inn At DelMonte Beach in Monterey, now Hotel 1110 (in 2012). We were able to experience “Euro-Californian vibes,” that highlighted art, design, textile, fixtures, and other vintage accents (something I’m totally all about!) With a free artisan cocktails, and roof-top ocean views, the experience we had at DelMonte/Hotel 1110 was pretty unforgettable. We also had a romantic rooftop couple massage over sunset!

The Sonoma house was located in a quiet neighborhood nestled between downtown Sonoma and popular Sonoma wineries. It’s a few miles from Sonoma square (fabulous restaurants like Girl and The Fig and El Dorado Kitchen) and a short bike ride to wineries, including Hamel Family Winery, Valley of the Moon and B.R. Cohn. The owners also had two new beach cruiser bikes are provided for our riding pleasure!

In the Springs, Fetters Hot Springs (is where we were stayed) had funky, ethnic, rundown and building up architecture. The Springs has what passes for affordable living with a spicy Hispanic flavor, taco trucks ply the cheapest and tastiest fast food you can find up and down the highway. With countless cafes, thrift shops, movie theatres, it felt just like my hometown of Hayward, but with a classic sophisticated twist!

Upon arrival, Derrick and I took a quick tour around the house, and just relaxed in the amazing living room containing a replica Eames lounge chair. Derrick didn’t understand the deal about this recognizable mid-century classic. Until he sat on it. For the weekend, it was officially “his,” chair. Every time we were home from a day of shopping and cruising around Sonoma, I found him on the sophisticated stylish, and luxurious comforting lounge chair.

The newly remodeled 2 bedroom (both queen beds)/2 bath, modern/rustic style Sonoma home with mountain view, had a Master en suite bathroom and a top-of the-line Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Cloud Luxe mattress. It was so comfy, it was hard to get up every morning to start our day! Our weekend was focused on relaxing, with no special romantic dinners, or evening strolls. Just to be away from all the home stress, kids, work, and just enjoy each others company, celebrating our 14 years of love.

We enjoyed a Saturday morning Valentine’s brunch at the Fremont Diner, just along Highway 121, in the Carneros district between Sonoma and Napa. Reimagined down-home Southern comfort dishes, drawing crowds. We arrived just in time before the lunch rush. We sat in the shared patio seating on roadside diner picnic tables, which was delightfully awkward?! Depending on your comfort level, you can chose to sit inside, or in the outdoor “shared,” seating. Due to the foot traffic of the place, we decided which of the two choices was faster to get seated!

Altogether, our weekend was surely needed. We both have been working really hard, and needed time to focus on us as a couple. Having two nights away from everyone, including our children was a great plan to rejuvenate, recharge, and refresh. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s weekend! I look forward to another mommy/daddy weekend.

Meet Tiffany

Bay Area raised Gemini, trying to juggle the life as a stay-at-home mom, a designer, DIY'er, and creative entrepreneur. I find it all challenging, inspiring, discouraging, hopeful, difficult, and wonderful all at the same time!
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